Teton Raptor Center

 Yesterday we went to the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson. They rehab injured birds and do research for conservation, including tracking where birds go using transmitters and cameras attached to their backs:

Peregrine wearing camera flying thousands of feet up from Jason Jones on Vimeo.

Their vision is incredible...one time a bird was sitting on Mt Glory up on the pass, about 3 miles away, and the Raptor Center person swung a lure. The bird immediately took off and flew home to grab the lure.

Injured Male Golden Eagle. The females are way bigger and can hunt animals as large as deer by waiting until they are near the edge of a cliff, then grabbing them, flying a few wingbeats, and dropping them to their death. These are the largest birds of prey.

 Flying demo.

Bird pouncing on a lure during demo.

Going for the swinging lure.

Eating quail meat.

Great horned owl. Take away the feathers and this animal is only the size of about two of your fists. The girl who worked there poked her whole finger into the fluff before actually contacting the bird's skin. The extreme fluffiness is partly to make the bird totally silent when hunting at night.

 

 Red tailed hawk?

 Talons can be as big as some grizzly claws?

Baby bird of prey. Will be flying in  week.

Wingspan.